Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1887-04-22

saw some people, "the Gospel OF sAii,'
| allows but a small swing for a nan S lacul-
ties, and some men have left the ministry
with that idea." One such said to fsoM-
land Hill: ~ have left the ministry pc
cause 1 don't want to hid my talents any
longer" "Well," replied Rowland h 49,
IL think the more you hide your talents inc
better Why, there is no field on earth 80
grand as that which is open before the
Gospel ministry. Have you powers OF
ANALYSIS? exhaust them here. Have you
unconquerable logic? let it grapple with
Paul's Epistle to the Romans. Have you
strong imagination? let it discourse on the
Psalms of David and Johns apocalyptic
version. Have you great powers OF pathos!
exhaust it in telling the story Of q Savlor's
love. Have YOU n bold style of thinking:
then follow Ezekiel's wheel, full Of eyes:
and hear through his chapters the rush OF
the wings of the seraphim. All ye VINO
want a grand field in which to work tor
God, come into the gospel ministry. AT
any rate, come into Christian circles, and
somewhere and somehow declare the grace
of God. Pardon for all sin. Comfort for
all trouble. Eternal life for oil the dead.
o, my soul! preach it forever. 1t has been
nv ambition, and l believe it has been
yours, my dear people, in these years OF
nv ministry to have this a soul-saving
church, and We never yet threw out the
Gospel net but we drew in q great multi
tude. They have come lou at a time, and
200 at a time, and $50 at q time, and l ex-
pect the day will appear when, in some
service, there will be 5000 souls accepting
the offers of eternal life. I wish l could
tell you some circumstances that have
come under my observation, proving the
fact that God has blessed the prayers OF
these people in behalf of souls immortal:
1 could tell you of one night when l stood
man passed me, his cheek bronzed with
the sea, and as he went into the inquiry
room he said to me, Il am an English
man." l said: 81 am very glad to see you;
walk in" That night he gave his heart to
Lord. It was o clear case of quick but
thorough conversion. Passing out at the
close Of the inquiry meeting I said: "How
long have you been in this country" he
said: II arrived by steamer this morning
at IL O'clock" II said: "How long will
you be in the city?" He said: II leave to-
morrow for Canada, and thence I 60 to
Halifax, and thence to Europe, and III
never be here again." l said: VI think
you must have come to this country to have
your soul saved" HE said: "That GER
tainly was the reason" In the other room,
one night, at the close of the service, there
sat among other persons, three persons
"These are not anxious inquirers." l said
to the man: Are you a Christian?" He
said: 81 am" I said: sWhen did you be-
come a Christian?" He said: "To-night."
His wife sat next to him. 1 said to her:
"!Are you a Christian?" She said: Il am"
| I said: "When did you become a Chris
tian?" She said: "To-night." I remarked:
"Is this young lady your daughter?" They
said: Eyes" I said to her: care you a
Christian?" She said: Eyes" I said:
"When did you become a Christian" She
said: Tonight" 1 said to them: "From
whence came your" They said: ave are
from Charleston, S. c." l said: "When
did you Gomez" They said: 1--WE came
yesterday" "How long are you going to
remain" "We go tomorrow. We have
never been here before, and shall never be
here again." Ihave heard from them since.
They are members of the church of Jesus
Christ, in good and regular standing.
eminent for consistency and piety. And
so God has made it Il soul-saving church.
But Icould tell you Of a tragic scene, when
once, at the close of the service, / found q
man in one Of these front seats, wrought
upon most nightly. I said to him:
"What is the matter?" He replied: 81 I'M
a captive Of strong drink; l came from the
west; I thought, perhaps, you could do me
some good; 1 find you can't do me
any good; I find there is
no hope for me-" l said:
"Come into this side room and we will
talk together" ooh, MOI" he said, "there's
no need of my going in; I am a lost man;
beautiful children; 1 had a fine profession;
l have had a thorough education; l had
every opportunity q man ever had, but 1
am q captive of strong drink. God only
knows what I suffer-" I said: "Be en-
couraged; come in here and we'll talk to-
gether about it." "No," he said, 81 can't
come; you can't do me any good. l was
on the Hudson River Railroad yesterday,
and coming down I resolved never again
to touch a drop of strong drink. While 1
sat there q man came ina low creature
and sat by me. He had a whisky flask and
he said to me: will you take a drink I
said: Nos but Oh, how I wanted it! And
as l said no it seemed that the liquor
curled up around the mouth of the flask
and begged: Take me! take me! take me-!
l felt I couldn't resist it, and vet / was
determined not to drink, and 1 rushed out
on the platform of the car, and I thought I
would jump off; We were going at the rate
OF forty miles an hour, and I didn't dare to
Jump; the paroxysm of thirst vent off, and
l am here tonight" I said: "Come
in, I'll pray for you, and COM
mend you TO God" He came in
trembling. Some of YOU remember.
After the service We walked out and nm the
street. I said: "You have an nwfn
Struggle; I'll take you into o drug store.
perhaps the doctor can give you some medi-
cine that will help you in your struggle.
though after all, you will have to defend
upon the grace Of God" I said to the
doctor: "Can you give this man some.
thing to help him in his battle against
strong drink" II can" replied the doctor.
and he prepared a bottle of medicine. 1
said: There is no alcohol in this-no
strong drink?" "None at all," said the
doctor. How long will this last?" T in.
CURED. 1T will last him q week" so"
l SAID, give us another bottle" We
passed out into the street and stood under
the gaslisht. It was getting late, and I said
to the man: 81 must part with YOU. PIT
your trust in the Lord and He viii SEQ VIZ,
through. You will make use Of
THIS medicine when the paroxvsm
OF thirst comes on" A few wseha
passed away, and l got a lette,
rom Boston saying: "Dear friend, Iinclose
me money you paid for that medicine !